Status of Women in Islam
"Why is it that so many women who have
been born and brought in Europe and
America are willing to reject their 'liberty' and
'independence' to embrace a religion that
supposedly oppresses them and is widely
assumed to be prejudicial to them?" This is a
question that I found on one of the sites
while surfing around, and I found it an
interesting question and which I'd like to
draw this article around.
Can Islam be prejudiced to women, and yet
appeal to women? Can Islam lower the status
of a woman and still have more women
embracing it as their way of life than men?
According to an article written by Lucy
Berrington in the Times Magazine (London)
dated 9th Nov. 1993: "It is even more ironic
that most British converts should be women,
given the widespread view in the west that
Islam treats women poorly. In the United
States, women converts outnumber men by
four to one, and in Britain make up the bulk
of the estimated 10, 000 to 20, 000 converts,
forming part of a Muslim community of 1 to
1.5 million "
How can the case of those women be
explained?! Well, I could say that there are
only one of two choices that one can decide
upon. Either all those women who choose
Islam don't know what they are doing or that
they discovered Islam is not prejudice to them
as others have yet to discover. New convert to
Islam since September 11, US Navy petty
officer, Heather Ramaha. "Islam gives us
Elevation; not Degradation"
In the Noble Quran Allah (Arabic word for
God) says:
"Mankind! We have created you from a male
and a female, and made you into nations and
tribes, that you may know one another. Verily,
the most honorable of you in the Sight of
Allah is the believer who has Taqwa (i.e. piety
and righteousness)and loves Allah most.
Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware." The
Holy Qur'an(49:13)
"I shall not lose sight of the labor of any of
you who labors in My way, be it man or
woman; each of you is equal to the other. The
Holy Qur'an(3:195)"
On the light of those verses, Islam declares
that it has not come to disadvantage women,
but in fact has been revealed to elevate
women ever since 1400 years ago, when
women in many parts of the world and
especially in the western societies were
considered objects that are owned and with
little to no rights in the society they live in.
Before any other religion or system in the
world Islam gave a woman the right to
inherit, the right to vote and voice her
opinion, the right to trade invest and improve
herself financially, the right to own - buy and
sell, the right to seek knowledge and have a
good education, the right to work and has
even gone further to oblige the males in every
stage of her life, whether it was a father,
brother or husband ... It's their duty before
God to take care of her, to spend on her, to
provide her with the food , clothing and
shelter that she needs, to provide her with a
good education, to protect her from anything
that can harm her and to never hesitate to
put their lives in stake for her if the need calls
them to do so. "As a modern westerner with
a career, of course I had to look into Islam's
attitude to women - I couldn't be oppressed
all of a sudden. But I discovered that it is pro-
women and pro-men; in Islam, women had
the right to vote in the year 600. Men dress
modestly, women dress modestly; neither
should flirt with the eyes, but rather they
should lower their gaze. I think it's unhealthy
to flaunt your sexuality - it attracts the wrong
energy back." (MTV Presenter Kristiane Backer
after being a Muslim) "Since I called myself a
feminist, my early reading centered around
women in Islam. I thought Islam oppressed
women. In my Women's Studies courses I had
read about Muslim women who were not
allowed to leave their homes and were forced
to cover their heads. Of course I saw hijab as
an oppressive tool imposed by men rather
than as an expression of self-respect and
dignity. What I discovered in my readings
surprised me. Islam not only does not
oppress women, but actually liberates them,
having given them rights in the 6th century
that we have only gained in this century in
this country: the right to own property and
wealth and to maintain that in her name after
marriage; the right to vote; and the right to
divorce." (Karima Slack, an American feminist
from secular humanism to Islam)
Some Muslim societies today lack those values.
Some people may rightly ask then, why do we
see some Muslim societies lacking those
values? There is a beautiful and very true
example I heard from a lecture by an
American Muslim called Khaled Yaseen, who
said that every person can be a father; but if a
father does not turn out to be a good father
then it's not fatherhood that we would blame.
Similarly, Islam is a rule and order. A Muslim
who does not act according to that rule and
order then by all means its not Islam that
should carry the blame.
Karla, a young Blonde haired Blue eyed young
American from Washington DC who is a
recent convert to Islam said in an interview
made with her: The main question people
seem to ask, is "How could you, an educated
American woman convert to Islam--a religion
that oppresses women?" They are quick to try
and equate the rights of women in
Afghanistan with the rights of Muslim women
everywhere. Basically, what I tell them, is that
the Qur'an gives women more rights than the
Bible does--in print. That was one of the
things that first drew me to Islam.
Unfortunately today, Islam is no longer the
leader in women's rights. I had a choice--
deny what I believe (i.e. that There is only one
God, and that Muhammed is a Prophet of God)
...or accept what I believe, but work to change
the problems that exist within the Muslim
community. I chose the latter.
In the world today, one could say that the
Taliban government in Afghanistan have been
considered as the top example of Women
Oppression in Islam. But what's ironic is that
even when a woman falls captive in the hands
of those supposedly most hateful men in the
world, Islam does not fail to win her heart.
Yvonne Ridley is an award-winning journalist
of more than 25 years standing and author of
two books, In The Hands of the Taliban and
Ticket to Paradise. She has spent the last 10
years working for several prestigious Fleet
Street newspapers including The Sunday
Times, The Observer, The Independent on
Sunday and The Sunday Express. She has also
expanded into television and radio producing
several documentaries from Iraq and
Afghanistan. Yvonne hit the headlines in
September 2001 when while working for the
Daily Express she crossed illegally into
Afghanistan and was subsequently held
captive by the Taliban for 11 days. Following
her release, she read the Qur'an as she had
agreed to during her captivity, and converted
to Islam in the summer of 2003.
Last but not least I would like to conclude by
the blessed sayings of Prophet Muhammad
peace be upon him:
"It is the generous (in character) who is good
to women, and it is the wicked who insults
them."
"The most perfect believers are the best in
conduct and best of you are those who are
best to their wives."
"Treat your women well and be kind to them
for they are your partners and committed
helpers."